Warriors win in Bogut's return from ankle injury

Agence France-Presse

Golden State Warriors Harrison Barnes (C) goes up for a slam dunk past Toronto Raptors Terrence Ross (R) and DeMar DeRozan (L) during the second half of their NBA basketball game in Toronto January 28, 2013. Photo by Mark Blinch, Reuters.

TORONTO, Canada - Australian big man Andrew Bogut played his first NBA game in nearly three months, scoring 12 points and grabbing eight rebounds for the Golden State Warriors in a 114-102 victory Monday at Toronto.

Bogut, who started and also blocked four shots and made a steal in 23 minutes on the court, had not played since November 7 in order to allow his surgically repaired left ankle time to strengthen.

The 7-foot Aussie center, who was the top pick of the 2005 NBA Draft, was traded from Milwaukee to the Warriors last March and only one month later underwent microfracture surgery on his left ankle.

Bogut played in four of the Warriors' first five games this season, averaging 6.0 points and 3.8 rebounds before taking a break to help his ankle heal.

In his prior 412 NBA appearances, Bogut had averaged 12.6 points and 9.3 rebounds a game.

Bogut was among six double-digit scorers for the Warriors, who were led by forward David Lee's 21 points and 12 rebounds. Klay Thompson added 19 points and seven rebounds while fellow guard Stephen Curry added 17 points.

Golden State improved to 27-17, fifth in the Western Conference, while the Raptors, led by 22 points from Aaron Gray, fell to 16-29, 11th in the Eastern Conference.